Three
by TailsNeverFails
Summary: Sequel to Technicolour. Give it a go!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey. This is the sequel to my other fic Technicolour, so youight want to read that first, but you don't need to. For those of you who have read it, this story is set three years later, so Nora is sixteen.**_

When Nora Reid felt her phone vibrate at her hip, she pulled a grim expression.

"How old are they?" She asked, without even saying hello to her father on the other end of the line.

"Erm, hello?" Spencer half laughed. "What do you mean how old?"

"The kid in your case. You never ring in the day unless it's child related."

"You are quite right. They're six." Reid sighed.

"That's too young. Find them, okay?" Nora asked quietly.

"They were never missing." The doctor spoke quickly, knowing that he shouldn't answer any more questions.

"Can I help?" The teenagers voice uttered softly, as she deduced the probable nature of the child's harm.

"I know what they need to hear."

"Hotch actually asked about that." Reid nodded, forgetting that the gesture would go unseen. "Would you be able to?"

"I think so. Yeah, Caltech finished for Christmas break yesterday, I'm headed home right now." Nora agreed.

"I told you I could travel over and come back with you." Spencer sighed.

"I know but I could have travelled back unaccompanied when I was ten. Now, tell me the case."

"The unsub, who will go unnamed, was abused by both his parents at a family party when he was a child. Twenty years later, he stalked a family when he found out they were having a party and crashed it. He murdered everyone except the six year old and his two parents. To complete his fantasy, he forced the kid's parents to abuse him, so that he could 'save' him by shooting the parents of a six year old in front of him."

Nora winced.

"God...how is he?"

"As expected." Reid sighed. "Won't speak to any adults because he can't recognise that his parents were forced to do what they did to him. At one point, I thought I'd gotten through to him when I asked about a Lord of the Rings book in his bag, but an inconsiderate social worker screwed it up in minutes by walking in and laying a hand on his shoulder."

"They never learn." Nora sighed quietly. "So it's a boy?" She wondered.

"Yeah. He's called Arlo. But Nora, know that the only reason you have been told any information is because you are being used as a final resort. Don't go texting Oz that you think you've found a kid he can sell his Ukulele to or whatever." Reid warned.

"I won't. I understand the seriousness of all of this. It was only four years ago that I was been chucked around like this remember?"

"I remember all too well. That's why I'm not sure about this. The last thing you need is a chance to relive your past." It caused the young man a great deal of pain that his daughter could talk about twelve years of abuse so casually, as if it happened to everyone.

"I can do this Dad. It'll help to help, you know?" Nora mumbled.

"Okay. But after you talk with him, you talk with me, or Emily or someone, deal?"

"Deal."

...

Two Hours Before

Prentiss and JJ stood in the small room with one way glass, observing the kid caught up in a train wreck of a situation. Arlo as he was called, sat completely still in a tiny, hunched formation of his limbs. Dried blood was splatted on his clothes that he would allow no one to remove, and there were even flecks in his dark red hair. The social worker sat next to him tried her hardest to interact with the stoic six year old, but Arlo wouldn't budge.

"I want to be the one to talk to him." JJ blurted suddenly. Seeing her friends hint of confusion, she explained herself. "I'm a mom, Em."

Emily's face showed guilt.

"I don't know if it should be you." JJ frowned and waited for what she hoped was a reason why.

"The kid is six and was lugging around a Tolkien in his rucksack, and those red curls are a definite Hobbit haircut if ever I saw one. I think this one's for Reid."

JJ studied Arlo for a minute. She wasn't really a lord of the rings fan, but she had seen posters for the new Hobbit film and had to admit that Arlo's haircut mirrored the main character's 'do perfectly. The women sighed in acceptance.

"You're right. And I suppose this is Reid's speciality. I just want to make sure he's okay Em. Who would do this to a little kid?"

"I don't even want to think about the scumbag." Prentiss shuddered. "I know he wasn't well, and I get that, but there's only so far you can avoid consequences from."

Reid slowly edged his way into the room beyond the glass. It seemed that Hotch had thought the same as the girls.

Spencer set an evidence bag on the table.

"Hey Arlo." He greeted calmly. "I'm Spencer and I have some things for you if you want them?"

The boy's gaze shifted to the bag.

"I'm afraid your rucksack needs to be kept a while, but I took all the things out for you."

The curls on his scalp bounced as the child nodded sharply, and minutely.

Reid slightly slipped his fingers under the red tape sealing the plastic, and set the items out one by one.

The table soon held a sketchbook, a bursting tube of pencils and crayons, toy dinosaurs, an antique, but very well cared for, analogue camera, and a copy of Lord of the Rings. Upon seeing the book and camera, Arlo became more engaged and curious.

Reid smiled to himself. He thought he could help this one.

_**How was that? The first chapter is complete, feedback would be wonderful. What do you think about Arlo? What do you think about sixteen year old Nora?**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	2. Chapter 2

Light fingers tapped on Reid's shoulder. Looking up, he saw Nora standing next to him awkwardly. It had been three years since he first met her, but in appearance, she had barely changed.

"Hey, Nora." Spencer greeted softly, pulling the slightly squirming teenager into a hug.

"Daaaaad!" She whined, but soon lent into the embrace.

"You have been over two-thousand miles away for six weeks." Reid stated matter-of-factly. "I am allowed to squeeze you. Seriously though, how are you?"

"Good." The answer was short and quiet.

Noticing early signs of emotion overload, Reid released his daughter, and kept his voice low and level.

"I don't know if I'm okay with this." He mused to no one in particular.

Nora just shrugged.

"You can't talk to him about what happened unless he wants to, and you can't ask him questions about the case like we might. All we need you to do is try help him relax and feel a little safer."

"Why am I doing this Reid?" Nora asked hoarsely.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Nor,"

"Dad I'm okay, just curious."

"Well," Reid sighed. "With the circumstances, Arlo has no trust in any adults whatsoever, really."

"And I'm not an adult, but am able to deal with this." Nora concluded for him.

"Are you able to deal with this?" The father said, equal parts concerned and stern.

"Yes." Nora looked thoughtful. "I missed you."

Reid once again drew her into his arms and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I missed you too."

...

It felt like De ja vu as Emily and JJ stood in the small cupboard of a room, only this time they were joined by the rest of the team. They all had missed Nora nearly as much as Reid, but they knew that all of them rushing to see her together would go badly. Later in the day they'd see her separately instead.

A quiet fell onto the room as Nora shuffled into the green chair set out for her. Whatever the team were expecting her to do, it wasn't the reality. Nora pulled a wrapped cookie out of her pocket. Seeing the skeptical look the six year old gave her, she pulled off a piece and popped it in her mouth.

"It won't hurt you." She mumbled.

Arlo sprang on the treat, and for the first time since his arrival, his tense shoulders dropped from where they were usually pulled up beside his ears.

"I'm Nora. Hi."

Arlo made forced eye contact.

"I'm not going to lie, I know that you're called Arlo." Nora spoke slightly louder.

"I also know that you are six, and that you like the Middle Earth books." "Now," she continued. "It doesn't seem fair that I know all that stuff about you and you don't know it about me."

Arlo shrugged.

"I'm Nora, I'm sixteen and I play instruments."

The mention of the girl's age caused Arlo's head to snap up.

"You're not an adult?" He croaked. They were his first words since his parents deaths, but Nora being amazingly Nora, carried on normally.

"Yeah. I've got five years at least."

Arlo smiled but the expression soon imploded.

"Hey what's up?" The teenager soothed.

"The man will want to talk to me again."

"Which man?" Nora asked.

"The one with no hair."

The answer was innocent enough, but Nora had to push back a grin at the thought of Morgan's reaction to the kid's description of him.

"He's a big softy." Nora smiled. "But if you don't want to talk to him, who are you okay talking with?"

"Don't know." Arlo shrugged bluntly.

"What about the man with long hair?"

Arlo looked a little uncertain.

"He knew about stuff I like and he was nice, but can't you just talk to me?"

Nora bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, little guy, I can't. Shall I tell you a secret though?"

Seeing a hesitant nod, she continued.

"He's my Dad."

"Really?"

"Really. He's a good guy, I promise. My parents weren't that good at looking after me and they hurt me like you got hurt. Spencer helped me then, and he can help you now."

Arlo rubbed his eye sleepily.

"Okay, Nora. I believe you."

"Thank you. I need to go now." The girl smiled at the progress he had made.

"Wait!" Arlo yelled. He ran up to Nora and touched his fingertips to hers. It wasn't exactly a hug, but to Nora who had been in the six year old's shoes, it meant the world.

"Thanks buddy." She whispered and left the room.

As she shut the door behind her, Nora saw Emily waiting for her.

"Em. Hey."

"Nora." Prentiss waved slightly, and then smiled hugely as the girl that four years ago didn't speak and wouldn't be touched, wrapped her bony arms around her shoulders.

"Hey, hey." Emily called softly. "Do you need to talk?"

"Did you find Arlo's family?" The question was quick and sounded planned.

"No. I'm sorry Nora. They were all at the party and a only Arlo survived."

"It's not fair."

"No Nor. It's really not." Prentiss lay a hand on the girl's head, but feeling a flinch, knew to back off.

"He's covered in blood. He'll change his clothes now." Nora suddenly said.

"Yeah, I know. You did great with Arlo Nora. I'm proud of you, you told him some hard things to make him feel safe." The woman couldn't believe the dumbstruck look that she was countered with.

"It wasn't anything special." Nora shrugged.

_**How was that? I got a few queries about Nora becoming a 'mini profiler' and thought I would let you know that you don't need to worry, that won't happen. Or at least I hope it isn't happening. Reviews are awesome**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	3. Chapter 3

Reid lightly stepped into the carpeted room. In his arms, he held a transparent box filled with a manner of all things, and a bowl of warm water. Arlo peered up at him as he entered, and untucked his hair from behind his ears, letting the locks fall into his eyes.

To be at a more friendly level, the BAU agent placed himself cross-legged on the floor, opposite from the boy.

"Arlo," He spoke softly. "I know you don't want to be touched right now, but we need to get you out of those clothes."

"I can do it." Arlo snapped back instantly. "Don't help me."

"Hey," Reid held his hands in front of his body where they were visible. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. I just came to bring you some more clothes and stay with you a while so that the social worker can have a break."

"Okay." The slight child paused. "What's in the box?"

"Oh," Spencer smiled, for it was a question he could answer easily. "Some clothes to choose from, a few Lego sets that Nora said you could borrow and a flannel."

A nod of approval was the only reply the young man was given.

After selecting a T-shirt with a bright orange lightning bolt graphic and some jeans, Arlo changed whilst Reid faced the wall as requested.

"What's that for?"

Spencer turned around to see the boy pointing at the water and flannel.

"To clean your face, Buddy."

The kid's face crumpled in confusion.

"Why? Have I got chocolate on it?" He enquired, remembering the cookie Nora had given him.

"No little man, it's..." Reid was stuck. How could he find the words to tell a six year old that his face was caked with the dried blood of his parents?

As it turned out, Arlo did all the work for him. One of the toys in the room had a mirrored section, and he snatched the coloured plastic to inspect his face. His tiny face was unreadable. He showed no emotion. It seemed hours had passed when he turned to stare at Reid with big, sorrowful eyes.

"Mommy and Daddy are dead?" He whispered, half a statement, and half a question.

The nod Spencer gave him was heavy and clumsy.

"I'm so sorry Buddy..." He managed before Arlo threw himself into a fit.

He threw the toys and other clothes around before dropping onto the ground, sobbing and screaming. Most people would be taken aback, but Reid had seen a number of similar displays, some worse. It all came with being Nora's parent, and the man knew what to do.

At first the genius just sat back and let Arlo rid himself of the emotions his body just couldn't contain. He didn't scold him when one of the cars he threw broke, or when a stray crayon left a purple mark on the wall, but when Arlo raised a fist to hit at the floor, he swooped the boy into his arms. To start, Arlo arched his back and screamed, but as Spencer stroked his hair and mumbled reassurances, the crying tapered off and the trashing boy stilled until the room was only filled with the occasional hiccup or sob that was quickly soothed.

The sound of an opening door caused Reid to turn his head and tense slightly. Seeing JJ enter, he relaxed and turned his attention back to the now sleeping boy in his arms. JJ silently made her way over, and sank down next to the pair.

"Is he supposed to be this small?" Reid wondered aloud.

"Arlo's a preemie." JJ answered. "So not really."

"That would be interesting." He stated sarcastically.

"What?" JJ asked curiously.

"I'd have two kids, one premature, one with quirks and both traumatized if I were to..." Spencer trailed off, as he realized that his private musings had made themselves not so private.

"Spence, are you thinking about?..." JJ asked with a mixture of uneasiness and happiness in her voice.

"No, yes, I don't know...maybe... Why did you come in here anyway?" Reid asked, trying to change the subject.

"Came to tell you that Nora has gone for lunch with Emily and Garcia. Also, I thought you might need a hand. It sounded nasty in here." JJ winced.

"He figured out about his parents. I mean, he already knew, I mean, he saw them get shot, but I think it clicked in his head that they aren't coming back."

The blonde agent let out a long sigh.

"Poor little guy."

She then moved to dip the flannel in the water and clean his face.

"Whatever happens," she began. "He just deserves to be loved."

_**How was that? Sorry if it's a bit short, but I thought I'd try squeeze one in before Christmas as I probably won't post for a while after this. Feedback is awesome, have a great Christmas!**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	4. Chapter 4

"You know you need to talk to Nora, right?"

Prentiss's words cut through Spencer's daydream. He looked up from where he was watching Arlo building with Lego.

"About what?" Reid asked with a half smile half frown.

"Don't insult my profiling skills Reid." Prentiss warned jokingly. "I know what you're thinking about doing and if you don't get Nora's okay, it's not going to work."

Realizing he had been caught, the young man grimaced slightly.

"I know I should, but I'm pretty nervous to be honest."

"Nervous?" Emily raised an eyebrow. "Of Nora, your female mini me?" Her tone then softened. "Spencer, I've seen her with Arlo, and I don't think she will mind this at all. I also don't think this would be a irresponsible thing for you to do as Nora's parent."

Reid blushed as Prentiss deciphered another of his worries. He then nodded softly, and cleared his throat.

"Arlo?" He called, but not loudly, as the small boy had only moved half an inch from the profiler since he learnt of his parent's deaths.

"Can you stay with my friend Emily for a little while? She's really nice."

Arlo's head snapped up, and he quickly filled the gap between him and Reid, his small fingers trapping the profiler's shirt sleeve.

"Stay. Please?" He wimpered.

"I need to go talk to Nora buddy, but you have to stay here." Reid uttered quietly and layed a hand on Arlo's red curls. "I bet if you ask real nice, Emily'll let you take a picture of her though."

The boy's mother had been a photographer meaning he had aquirred a fondness of the art as well,and so the mention of a photo opportunity had Arlo looking slightly less terrified, but his vice grip on Reid's shirt still remained and tears threatened to fall.

"Five minutes buddy," Reid soothed, rubbing the child's back. "Promise."

"Okay." Arlo nodded shakily and released Spencer's striped button-up.

Reid gently tapped two fingers on Arlo's temple to keep the boy's attention on him.

"Arlo? Do you trust Emily?"

"You trust Emily." The child answered calmly.

Realizing this was the only response he would get, Reid nodded slightly and left the room.

...

As the two stood on the roof of the BAU, Spencer breathed a sigh of relief to see Nora eating strips of bright red pepper from a tub which he recognized as Garcia's. Trust her to remember that Monday was a red day. It wasn't that Nora purposely didn't eat, but if she was busy or stressed she forgot easily, or just decided that eating was less important than the situation she was in and just skip meals. It was a habit she got off of Reid, which filled him with guilt, but also helped him to estimate whether she would eat or not.

"Adopt Arlo." Nora spoke easily.

"What?" Reid's face contorted with confusion.

"Whether you're considering or not, and I have my bets on the former, you should do it. It's even alliteration, it was meant to be." Nora's answer sounded thought through, and Reid saw no point in arguing with her about something he wanted to do anyway.

"Why do you think?" He asked his daughter, curious to hear her points.

"I've been in the system, Reid. It isn't made for kids like me and Arlo. If it wasn't for you, I'd have slipped through the cracks and I don't want to watch Arlo live the fate that I was saved from."

"Okay." Reid mumbled inaudibly.

"What?" Nora asked, as she had expected to have to use persuasion.

"I'm going to adopt Arlo. Try at least. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."

"Can it happen soon?"

"I could possibly be given temporary guardianship today. Seeing as we've just moved and consequently had the house checked out by CPS to make sure it's good for you, it will make things a lot easier. Plus I had all the background checks three years ago."

Nora skilled happily.

"We can help him, Dad."

"I know. But I'm apprehensive. Arlo's a lot younger than you were when I adopted you. Can I really look after a six year old?"

"Dad," Nora reassured. "I wasn't six, but at times, I needed the parenting required for one. I still do occasionally."

"That's not true." Reid frowned.

"No," the brunette admitted. "It's a slight embellishment of it, but only a slight one. You'll be fine."

Reid hugged Nora to his chest.

"How did you get so amazing?" He grinned.

"I've had practise." Nora joked back, and stuck out her tongue.

"Now go tell that CPS woman that the little man is staying with us."

_**How was that? I hope you had a great Christmas, mine was pretty good. What do you think of the Reid family's possible addition? Let me know**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	5. Chapter 5

Mrs Gowel, Arlo's case worker, seemed rather alarmed when Spencer rushed towards her.

"Have you found some where for Arlo yet?" He asked urgently.

"No." The woman replied curtly. "I'm not a miracle worker and we have shortages of foster familes as it is. It looks like he will end up in a group home."

Mrs Gowel frowned slightly when the young doctor looked relieved.

"What are the possibilities of me becoming his guardian? Even if temporary at first?"

"Pardon me?" The CPS worker blinked.

"I am already an adoptive parent, so I have all the forms and requirements." Reid continued.

"Well that's all fine and dandy," the woman nodded. "But I have to take the child's individual needs into account. How old was your child when you adopted them?"

"Nora was thirteen."

"Hmmm. So you see, you've only had experience looking after a teenager. Have you considered how demanding looking after a younger child is?"

"I have. Nora's past had delayed her emotionally when I adopted her. She's just about up to speed now, but back then, she needed the support of someone younger."

Mrs Gowel nodded slightly and tapped a few keys on her laptop.

"What was Nora's surname before the adoption?" She asked. "I need to consider the affects on her as well as the ones on Arlo."

"I understand. She wanted her name changed completely, she was originally Syble Mathews."

Mrs Gowel tapped away and let out a small gasp as Nora's file popped up, along with the photo of her that showed numerous signs of abuse.

Reid winced.

"I hate that picture of her." He mumbled.

"That's understandable. Now it says here that Nora was tested for aspergers syndrome but the results aren't on here. Can I ask why?"

"Of course." Reid nodded. "I didn't want people to know the results for fear of people labelling her and judging her. I didn't know myself until recently, but when Nora started collage far away, we both decided we should know so that she could get help if needed."

"And?" Mrs Gowel wondered softly, recognizing the tender subject.

"Nora does indeed have slightly above mild aspergers." Spencer admitted. "It doesn't really affect our day to day lives, but in new or particularly social situations she needs some degree of support for either me, or other people."

The social worker nodded and smiled softly, as if she respected Reid and Nora for accomplishing a great feat, when in reality for them, it was just life.

"Why do you think Arlo should be placed with you?" Mrs Gowel asked in a manner which made it sound like the last question to be asked.

"I think I can help him." Reid spoke calmly. "I respect the foster system very much and I know it does a great job, but for kids like Nora and Arlo, I don't believe it's suited for them. They are the kind of kids that need to be parented a little obscurely to the norm. For example, I know that it isn't recommended for kids to watch a lot of TV. It stops them thinking and being active. But for Nora, films and programmes are a way for her to wind down in a safe way, and also helps her recognize and examine emotions. Hence we watch a lot of films. I think Arlo would benefit from tailored parenting methods because from what I gathered when I've spoken with him, it's how his biological parents raised him as well."

Mrs Gowel broke into a full on grin.

"Mr Reid I'll fill in the paperwork gladly."

"Wait!" Reid held up his hand. "I need to ask Arlo first. If he doesn't want to stay with me and Nora, I won't force him."

"Of course." The women shook her head in disbelief.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Reid half-laughed nervously.

"Because I don't see how on this earth that little boy wouldn't want you to be his daddy."

...

Reid entered the room hoping that both Prentiss and Arlo were coping, and was pleasantly surprised. Emily sat on a chair attempting to look natural as Arlo had instructed, while the six year old lay on the table taking pictures of the agent. The boy's T-shirt had been put on back-to-front, and a pretty decent copy of the superman logo had been crayoned on.

After greeting Prentiss with a nod, Reid cleared his throat.

"Hey Arlo. I like what you've done with your shirt."

"I'm not Arlo. I'm superman." The kid frowned.

"Okay." Reid smiled slightly at the stubborn expression Arlo managed to keep. "If you are now superman instead of Arlo Brown, why?"

"Bad things happen to Arlo Brown." The boy never looked up from his camera. "But not superman."

"I see." Reid and Prentiss shared the same look of defeat. Children were encouraged to be themselves in the sense of being creative etcetera, but with Arlo, it was literally _being _himself. It was one thing for a child to be withdrawn, but not even accepting their identity?

Remembering why he was there, Reid spoke again.

"Superman? Where do you think you should stay tonight?"

Arlo looked up, seeming pleased that his character was working.

"My house." He said, a little baffled at the easy question.

Reid sighed heavily and brought himself down to Arlo's level.

"Buddy," he began. "You can't stay at your house because no one lives there that can look after you anymore."

Arlo face crumpled.

"I'll make it easier for you, okay? You have three options: you can go stay in a house with lots of other kids that have lost their parents like you, we can try find a family that can look after you, or you can stay with me and Nora at our house."

Arlo considered things for a moment.

"You'd let me come to your house?"

"Yes if you wanted." Reid nodded. "We have a few empty rooms."

Arlo reached up and threw his short arms around Reid's neck, catching the profiler by surprise.

"I'd like that." he whispered.

_**How was that? I'd like to say a humongous thank you to everyone that reviews, you all are pretty amazing**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	6. Chapter 6

"So can we go home?"

Nora sat at Reid's desk and had gotten bored, so was spinning around in his chair at what was beginning to be dangerous speeds.

Morgan placed a hand on the back of the chair, causing it to stop suddenly and throw off Nora in the direction of a filing cabinet. Upon hearing Morgan's pathetic attempt at concealing sniggers, she raised her eyebrows at the profiler.

"Payback's a b-" she began before being caught in the warning glare of her father. "Come oooooon!" Nora whined. "We've been waiting for the paperwork to get verified for over an hour, and until that happens neither of us can see Arlo and you can't leave the office. I may be considered smart Reid, but I'm still sixteen. I'm bored.

"I know." Spencer admitted. "And I apologise. You don't have wait up for us, it's only two in the afternoon and the temporary guardianship papers might not be completed until six." Nora pondered for a moment before seeming to get an idea. "I could go and get things you'd need to look after a six year old. We don't exactly have that kind of stuff to hand."

"Good idea," Reid nodded. "But do you know what stuff a six year old boy needs?"

Nora's eyes widened. "No. Do you?"

"Erm, kind of."

JJ strolled over causing both the Reids to collapse into a heap of pleading and questions. After picking out a few key words from the ramble, the blonde got the overall gist of the problem.

"You two are in luck." She chuckled. "Will's home with Henry today because it's a holiday, and I've just got an SOS text from him. Seems the little man already has cabin fever, but, I'm sure a shopping trip with his dad and his favorite sixteen year old Caltech student will brighten him up." Sensing the 'no, don't want to put you to trouble' that was bound to follow her offer, JJ spoke fast. "Seriously, it would be a favour Nor. Henry needs to get out of the house, and though a shopping trip won't sound great to Will, he knows what you'll need, and he can get some stuff for Henry that we could do with."

"Thank you, Jaje." Spencer smiled at his friend and then turned to Nora.

"Unfortunately, Arlo's parents had quite a few enemies and one of them saw the chance to cause havoc. A molotov cocktail was thrown at their house about an hour ago. Arlo's room and possessions are pretty much ruined, so he needs new clothes and shoes. Do you still watch a lot of cartoons?"

"Yeah, keeps me sane at school." Nora shrugged. "Why?"

"When you choose Arlo's clothes, try get ones that look like character's clothes or have superhero symbols on them. Hobbit or Lord of the Rings shirts would be the ultimate jackpot."

"Right." Nora offered a thumbs up. "Got it, Professor."

Rolling his eyes at Nora's nickname for him, Reid braced himself for a long wait filled only with paperwork.

...

"NORA!" The blonde boy threw himself at the teenager.

"Hey bud!" Nora greeted as she threw Henry onto her back.

"Hey Nora," Will smilled as he walked over. "How's collage treating you?"

"Everyday, this frat group beat me up and eat my liver. It grows back I suppose, but then it just gets eaten again the next day!" Nora faked exasperation.

"Haha." Will deadpanned. " I don't think I can beat that unless I use a story that isn't for Henry's ears so you win."

Nora wrinkled her nose.

"Ew."

Her and Will had been running a competition of who could lie the most about their day for almost three years. Both Reid and JJ found it weird as the stories were without fail, gory down to minute details. Nora and Will however, shared a similar twisted sense of humour, so found it hilarious, and fiercely competitive.

Henry cleared his throat.

"Should we, like, go now?" He asked boredly, achieving hidden smirks all round.

"Suppose so." Will agreed bashfully. "What would we do without you buddy?"

"I don't know." Henry sighed dramatically. "But even though you don't know it, I'm actually in charge here."

...

Walking through the front door, Reid pocketed his keys and hung up his coat, and Arlo's borrowed FBI jacket.

"I'm in the used to be office!" Nora called out.

"Nora?" Arlo asked excitedly.

"Go on up, Superman. It's the first door at the top of the steps.

Reid heard little pattering feet, and a loud gasp.

"Used to be office?" Spencer called to his daughter as he climbed the stairs.

The profiler broke into a wide grin as he saw the room Arlo stood speechless in.

As well as normal furniture, a map of Middle Earth hung on one wall, while a mural of a Hobbit hole filled another.

"How did you get this done!" Reid asked. "This is amazing!"

"As soon as Arlo's paperwork went through, I rang Oz. His painter friend owed him a favour and came round. The map's from the comic book store."

"Thank you." Arlo breathed as he stroked his fingers across the bedsheets. "Can I sleep?" He asked suddenly, and it was only then did Reid notice the time.

"Sure Superman, that paperwork to longer to be approved than I expected."

As soon as he was given permission, Arlo climbed into bed fully clothed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Spencer thought to wake and change him, but stopped. The night would be eventful and the boy needed all the sleep he could get.

_**How was that? Hope you had a good new year, feedback would be amazing**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	7. Chapter 7

After eight weeks of Nora being on the other side of the country, a movie Marathon was inevitable. Nora had decided on Hitchcock films and Reid had agreed. He knew that the sleepy looking teenager wouldn't last long anyway. They were only halfway through 'The Birds', when Nora went limp. Smiling softly, Spencer turned off the movie and walked over to his daughter. The father carefully unwrapped her from the sheet she had binded tightly around herself as she always did, and brushed his hand over her cheek.

The first time Nora had fallen asleep on the sofa, Reid had simply carried her into her room without waking her. That mistake, he learnt the hard way. The change of surroundings when she woke up had sent Nora spiraling into an episode that had taken Reid the best part of twenty minutes and numerous textured objects to pull her out of. Though he didn't like waking her up, Spencer had to face the music and accept it didn't do either of them any good if he didn't.

Nora sat up groggily.

"Arlo?" She mumbled.

"He's fine. No nightmares yet." Reid smiled.

"Good."

"Have you been in your room since you got home?" Reid asked, knowing that if Nora hadn't, she would need time to readjust herself.

"Yep." Nora replied. "Will you bring me down a blanket?"

"Okay."

The profiler walked down the hallway and up the stairs. Their house was... Strange to say one thing. At least half a dozen people had owned it before them, and all of them had partly renovated it, then left. When the Reids had arrived, the house was a random patchwork of different people's dream houses and no two parts of it were decorated the same. They'd changed nothing. Spencer didn't really have the time or skill to redecorate, and didn't really want to. They both liked it, so despite Morgan's exasperation, a library full of bookshelf and obscure movie posters had been added, but nothing else.

Reid reached the white airing cupboard and reached inside for a blanket. He dug around a bit for one of Nora's weighted ones, then hefted it downstairs to the door of the basement. He rapped on the wall.

"Can I come down?"

"Sure." Nora answered.

He made his way down the stairs, smiling at the amount of glow in the dark stars everywhere. For Nora's birthday, Jack had given her a pack of a thousand, and she had stuck up every single one.

Nora was sat on the edge of her bed, running her hand across her bedside table. On one of her many trips to the BAU, Morgan had caught her sat near the notice board running her fingers over the push pins. The next Saturday, he brought round the bedside table, the top of which was covered entirely with them.

"You're okay, Nor." Reid didn't even need to ask.

"I know." She whispered. "Is Arlo okay?"

"He will be."

"I told him things." Nora's stinted answer worried Reid considerably.

"I know and I thank you for that because I think now he doesn't feel so alone, but you need to stay with me Nora, don't drift away."

Spencer was in the position where both a flashback and a meltdown were possible, and he wanted to prevent both of them.

"I'm going to sleep." Nora said abruptly, and pulled her blanket over herself.

"Okay, goodnight." Reid whispered.

"Night, dad."

...

A vibrating in his pocket drew Dr Reid away from his book.

"JJ, hey." He answered his phone.

"Hey Spence," his friend greeted. "Just checking if things are doing okay?"

"Arlo's actually doing really good." The profiler sounded slightly amazed. "But then again, it's only ten o'clock, there's still time."

"You are a pessimist." JJ stated matter of factly. "Nora?"

Reid grimaced.

"Pretty bad. I'm putting it down to sensory overload seeing as she tackled both an airport and a mall today."

"Yeah." The blonde agreed. "Will told me that she was information dumping at the mall and stimming quite a bit so it's probably that."

"How's Henry after the mall trip?" Reid wondered.

"A lot better. He also wants to meet Arlo."

A loud cry interrupted Reid's answer.

"Speak of the devil. I've gotta go Jaje, bye."

JJ's 'See ya, Spence." Was barely heard before Reid slammed the phone shut.

The profiler bounded up the stairs and burst into Arlo's room, switching on the light. Seeing the terrified child staring wide-eyed in his direction, Reid softened his body language immediately.

"Superman? Remember me?" He soothed softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Arlo chanted tearfully.

"What? I don't understand, bud." Reid pulled back the quilt, intending to pull the boy into a hug but stopped.

"Oh Buddy," he sighed. "You have nothing to apologize for."

The boy shook his head reverently.

"I r-ruined your sheets!" He sobbed.

"It's fine." Spencer reassured him. "I can wash them. But first, let's get you cleaned up."

Reid slowly lifted the boy and carried him into the bathroom where he set him on the edge of the sink. After turning on the bath tap, he faced Arlo.

"Was wetting the bed the only reason you were crying, Superman?"

"H-h-had a nightmare."

"Kiddo, it's okay now." Reid lulled softly. "You're safe here, he can't get to you."

Arlo only nodded, he was too sleepy to talk.

Seeing that the bath was done, Reid undressed the little boy and lifted him in. As he washed Arlo he asked him mundane questions to keep him distracted from the fact that he was touching him, and to distract himself from the fact that Arlo was one big bruise.

As he toweled the child off, and applied a dressing to a deep cross shaped cut on his shoulder blade, Arlo giggled a little at his stupid jokes.

Those half laughs supported the thing he had told Nora earlier. Arlo was going to be okay.

_**How was that? Thanks to the anonymous reviewer that gave me some pretty cool facts. Please review, it makes my day**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	8. Chapter 8

A brisk knock on the door sent Reid walking towards it, and Arlo cowering in a corner. As soon as Spencer's fingers brushed the doorknob, the boy let out a strangled yelp.

"Don't let him in!"

"Let who in?" Reid asked calmly.

Arlo's chest heaved as he took in quick gulps of air.

Seeing his charge's panic, Reid quickly scribbled 'one minute' onto a post it note and pushed it out through the letterbox. He then steadily made his way over the the huddled child, sinking down to the six year old's level as he went.

"Buddy, calm down. Slow your breathing... That's it. In...out...in...out."

"T-the man knocked on the door w-w-with a gun. Mommy wasn't feeling well. W-we weren't going to go to the p-p-party but he made us." Arlo trembled, but didn't cry, causing Reid to be curious. He'd save it for another time, though.

"I understand that the person at the door scared you, but they aren't going to hurt you. I would never open the door to anyone that might." Reid explained things carefully with a soft tone, and noticed Arlo physically calming. "You're safe here, kiddo."

Arlo looked across at Reid, and kept full eye contact for once.

"Mommy didn't know he was bad. She wanted me to be safe. But it didn't work."

The doctor's insides crumbled slightly and he tried to brush off the hauntingly calm comment.

"There's a peephole in our door." He offered. "You can look and see who it is."

Wordlessly, the boy raised his arms, and once at the door, let out an excited screech.

"It's Penelope!" He happily squirmed in Reid's arms. "Please will you let in Penelope, Spencer?"

Reid shook his head, amazed at the sudden mood swing. If Arlo could go from terrified to giggling in seconds, Reid made a mental note to keep an eye out for when the tables turned.

"Sure, little man."

Opening the door, Spencer braced for the bone-crushing hug he predicted would follow. He was not wrong.

"Hey Garcia." He grinned. "Does the team have a day off? Because if Hotch duped me out of holiday time..."

"Nope, my genius. Just thought I'd drop by quickly. Is it okay?" The tech analyst suddenly realized that she might have been unwelcome.

"Yeah, of course."

Spotting Arlo who had hooked his finger through Reid's belt loop and stood fairly close to the profiler, Garcia gave a salute.

"Good morning, Superman."

"Hi." Arlo waved.

The techie noted that Arlo wore the same shirt as the day before.

"Hey, superman?" She called. "Maybe you could be someone else today? Then you can wear something clean."

The miniature superhero shook his head, causing his red curls to fall into his face in a way Garcia would only describe as adorable.

"No Arlo." He huffed.

"Oh Sweet Cheeks," Garcia tutted. "I didn't say you had to be Arlo."

The woman handed the boy a large paper bag.

"No peeking." She warned. "Go try it on, if you don't like it, feel free to change back."

As the six year old took the bag cautiously and scampered off, Reid let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, so much." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've tried to get him to change all morning, but he wasn't having any of it." The genius's curiosity piqued. "What did you get him?"

Garcia just smiled as Arlo ran back into the room, throwing his arms around Penelope's legs. He now wore a black jacket, that's hood was decorated with the eyes and ears of Toothless the dragon.

"You listened." He whispered. "Thank you." The boy then turned to Reid. "I'm Toothless today." He told the man. "I'm gonna tell Nora."

"Okay, Toothless. Just knock on her door first." Spencer smiled at Arlo's unique coping mechanism, then gave Garcia an odd look.

Sensing the younger man's unasked question, she chuckled a little.

"When I kept an eye on the little dragon for a while yesterday, we had an extensive conversation about the pure art that is DreamWorks animation. How to train your Dragon is one of his favourite movies. Besides Lord if the Rings, of course."

Spencer nodded slightly at his friend.

"Thank you. Arlo's parents might have loved him a lot, but right now, all he can remember is them hurting him. You've showed him that not all adults are bad, and I really appreciate that."

Penelope smiled softly, before realizing the missing piece.

"Where's Nora the Explorer?"

"Hiding from your nicknames." Reid joked, but quickly sobered up under Garcia's infamous glare. He ran a hand through his hair.

"In her room. I think she's-"

He was cut off by a drum beat and smirked. "Yep, she's drumming. I hate Will and JJ."

Garcia cackled.

"Well, Will's friend was selling it cheap, and a certain instrumentalist's birthday was coming up, what were they supposed to do?"

Reid grimaced.

"Not buy my daughter a drum kit?"

Garcia laughed again.

"If she's busy, I'll leave these with you." The woman said, handing Reid a packet of ginger flavoured gummies. "I said I'd pick some up for her the next time I was in China town."

"Thanks." Reid nodded. "She loves these."

"No problemo." Garcia quipped. "Now what does the day hold for the trio of awesome?"

Spencer smirked slightly before answering with a grimace.

"Children's Hospital."

Penelope winced.

"Ouch. How come?"

"Arlo has a full scale investigation that wasn't performed yesterday because of fear of increasing his trauma, and Nora has one of her thrice- yearly psych evaluations."

Garcia raised her eyebrows.

"Nora gets psych evals?"

Reid nodded.

"With her history, it's either that, or weekly therapy sessions. She hates both and this is the lesser of two evils in her words."

The tech analyst frowned a little.

"If she hates them so much, as her parent you can allow her not to go to them."

Reid shook his head.

"I know, but it's not CPS giving her the choice, it's me. You see, Nora has two senses of things being normal: normal for you or me, or what was normal when she lived with Bobby. The last time those normals crossed over, she got daily abuse from kids three years older than her and thought nothing of it until they completely broke her. I don't do it to annoy her, but whether she likes it or not, talking to a professional helps."

Penelope nodded grimly.

"I understand."

...

As soon as the nurse made to touch his arm, Arlo had screamed, and he didn't stop. He didn't even really register what was going on anymore. He didn't move, he barely blinked or breathed, but he screamed. If he screamed, then people knew he wasn't okay. He couldn't rely on his words anymore. He had told his mom and dad that he wasn't okay when they were at the party, but they didn't stop. If speaking didn't work anymore, screaming was the next best thing.

In the back of his mind, he could hear Spencer telling him he was okay, but Arlo wasn't okay, so he didn't understand and tuned out the words until they were a meaningless babble.

He watched though. It was as if his brain was disconnected from his body, and he didn't have to think to scream anymore. Spencer was arguing with the nurse, then the nurse left, and Arlo stopped. Nora was there.

The teenager shooed her father out of the room, then sat crossed-legged opposite the boy.

"Remember, Toothless." She soothed. "I've got a good five years left. I'm not an adult."

The six year old nodded breathlessly, then slowly allowed himself to be wrapped in Nora's arms.

"Buddy," she began reluctantly. "The nurse needs to make sure you're okay."

Arlo tucked into a tight ball and wimpered.

"I promise she will tell you exactly what she's going to do and why, and she won't hurt you."

The little boy glanced up warily.

"Can Spencer come in? He can stop the nurse if she hurts me."

"She's not going to, Toothless." Nora reassured him. "But sure."

_**How was that? Thank you to all the great writers of reviews, if there's anything you want to see happen, let me know and I can see what I can do.**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Time jump of a few days, enjoy!**_

Arlo had stayed with Reid and Nora for almost a week, and although he didn't know it, the temporary guardianship had nearly run out.

"Neil?" Arlo's social worker asked the boy who was wearing a astronaut helmet and claiming to be Neil Armstrong. "Do you like living with Spencer?"

The red head looked up from a drawing he was working on as if the woman was completely stupid.

"Should I not?" He wondered.

The woman smiled a little.

"No,no. It's good that you have settled in so well, but now you have, we need to think about going an extra step."

Arlo just frowned confusedly.

"Would you like to live with Spencer forever?" She asked slowly.

"What do you mean?" The boy scrunched up his eyebrows.

"Would you like to have Spencer as your parent?"

Reid who was in the kitchen supposedly making drinks but was actually earwigging, admired the woman's tact in talking to young kids about tough subjects. The doctor walked back into the room and was hit instantly with a question.

"Spencer?" Arlo called shyly.

"Yeah, bud?"

"I've been asked if I want to be adopted by you. Is that alright?"

Reid cracked a smile at the six year old's ponderings.

"It's totally fine with me, kiddo. It was my idea."

Arlo added a few blades of grass on his drawing.

"I would like spencer to be my parent." Arlo nodded quietly, selecting a red pen scribbling at the top of the page. He then spontaneously stood up and walked away.

The social worker stared a little wide eyed at the child's abrupt exit, but Reid quickly covered up for him.

"It's fine." He reassured the woman. "I get that from Nora all the time. He's probably shocked that I want him to stay with me. It's how Nora felt at the beginning."

"Right." The woman nodded. "And the name thing?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm positive that we can make progress with that."

"Why are you so certain?" The CPS worker looked sceptical.

Reid smiled at the cream paper on the table.

"He just signed that drawing 'Arlo'."

...

It only took a day for things to get sorted out. The next morning, Arlo Brown became Arlo Reid. Concluding himself that a new name meant a new start, the kid started asking to called Arlo again, much to Reid's joy. Nora seemed happy of the addition to her family, and as on her day of adoption the was annually allowed to decide what to do for the day, insisted that Arlo was allowed the same.

Which was why at two o'clock on Saturday, they ended up at a large park. At first, Reid was slightly baffled by the simple request, but then remembered that for protection reasons, Arlo hadn't been properly outside for four days. The park was all that he'd want to do at age six if he'd had nothing but time indoors for ninety-six hours.

Reid sat on a bench watching Nora chase Arlo, smiling at how when she caught him, Nora was careful about only placing a hand on his shoulder as he still wasn't big on uninvited touch, and how Arlo avoided a tunnel that was the exact kind of small dark space that he knew Nora was petrified of.

Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed a man perch next to him until she cleared her throat.

"How old's yours?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"One is six and the other is sixteen.." Reid trailed off. Suddenly he realized that the man sat next to him had once been one of his high school tormentors. He was fairly certain he hadn't been recognised, as he had changed a lot since the age of twelve. Deciding he would never meet the man again, he carried on the conversation as he normally might.

"How old is yours?"

"He's eight. That's him there." The once jock proudly pointed out a boy with short black hair in the sand pit.

At that moment, Arlo wizzed past the bench. He still wore the astronaut helmet from the day before and ran around making sounds like a plane, and burning off a build up of energy.

Reid chuckled slightly.

"There's the little guy."

"Cute kid." The man commented shortly, obviously shocked by the boy's strange attire.

The two sat in an awkward silence for some time, before Nora silently slunk over. Noticing the stranger, she chose not to speak, but rumaged in Reid's messenger bag, pulled out Arlo's camera, nodded at her father and left as soon as she had come.

"Sixteen, huh?" The man asked. "My other son is seventeen, perhaps they've met at school?"

Reid looked sheepish. "I doubt it, Nora's been going to Caltech for two years."

The man let out a long whistle.

"She get her smarts off of you?

"I'm not her biological parent. So no, probably not." As the man's questions became more intrusive, Reid's answers became more blunt. He was not enjoying the man's company anymore than when he was twelve, and wished he could get out of there.

As soon as the thought blossomed in his head, he regretted it.

Nora sprinted towards him, and once she was close enough yelled urgently.

"Reid! It's Arlo!"

She then ran back towards the water section of the park with Reid not far behind her. As he ran he tried to make up excuses in his head. Perhaps Arlo had just tripped and skinned his knee? Though really, he knew it would not be the case.

As he rounded a corner, he felt sick. A woman held Arlo tightly by his wrist, and had her hand raised to spank him.

"STOP!" The father yelled, shocking himself, but also the woman, who let her grip go slack.

As soon as he was free, Arlo ran to Reid and wrapped each limb tightly around the man's torso and pulled off his helmet.

"Hey,hey. It's okay now. I gotcha." He thought of Arlo's past before comforting him further. "I'm gonna hug you, okay little spider monkey?"

The boy nodded, and was soon wrapped in a gentle embrace.

After making sure Arlo was unharmed, Reid looked up to the outraged woman.

"What is going on?" He ground out.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing." The woman retorted. "Your son was taking photographs of my daughter!"

Reid stared at her blankly.

"So you were going to hit him?"

"She was in a bathing suit!" The woman flapped before composing herself dramatically.

"I only went to take the film from his camera, but he bit me! That is when I decided to take action."

Reid nodded calmly, or as calmly as he could be, then looked down to Arlo.

"Buddy, did you ask permission?"

"Yes." Arlo nodded vigorously. "I asked the little girl and she said yes."

"Right." Spencer shifted the boy so that they made eye contact, then continued. "You're not in trouble. I'm not going to punish you, but I'm going to explain why this lady didn't like it. If it is a little kid that you are taking photos of, it's probably good to ask their guardian as well as them. Now, what other pictures are on that film roll?"

Arlo burrowed into Reid.

"The ones of the team."

"And?"

"Some pictures of Mommy and Daddy."

Reid let out a deep sigh and wordlessly tightened his grip on his son. He wanted to take Arlo and Nora, who was showing telltale signs of an episode, away from the park and just forget about it. The woman, it seemed, had other plans.

"That's it?" She screeched. "What kind of discipline is that? By the sounds of it, you aren't even his parent!"

"I am Arlo's father." Spencer kept control, barely. "I have adopted is my son, and I know that right now, the last thing he needs is discipline. What he does need however, is to go home. Don't worry about those photographs. I will personally make sure they are destroyed. Goodbye." With that, Reid turned and walked away, Arlo in one arm, his other passed Nora a wooden puzzle to keep her in control.

He heard the woman begin to call out, but she stopped before she finished so he continued to plod along.

"Dad?" Nora asked, not too far away from inaudibly. "Who was the man on the bench with you?"

Reid collected his thoughts.

"Oh, um, he was a friend from high school." The father lied.

It had been one of the bad days. Reid knew there were more to come, but as he heard Nora mutter "Liar." Under her breath, he smiled. There would be good days too.

_**How was that? Sorry it's been a while, I've been a bit busy lately. What do you think of this chapter? Next time, I think I'm gonna send Arlo to school, but who knows?**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	10. Chapter 10

The first time it happened, Reid thought it was a slip up. They were sat eating, when Arlo looked up at him.

"Daddy, can I have some more jello please?"

Nora froze with a faint smile on her lips. Spencer let out a single breath, a grin pasted on his face. But then remembered the boy's question.

"Do you think you should have more jello?" Reid asked, faking suspicion.

Arlo looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes. I ate my carrots."

"Do you not like carrots Arlo?"

The six year old screwed up his nose in reply.

"But your head is a carrot!" Nora teased, ruffling his red curls.

Reid shot his daughter a mock look of warning and she laughed, but retracted her hand from her brother's head.

Wordlessly, Reid scooped another serving of the sugary treat for his son.

"So," he began casually. "How are we feeling about school tomorrow?"

"It's not fair." In just over a week, Arlo had perfected Nora's classic combination of death stare and monotone.

Reid sighed, over exaggerating disappointment.

"Come on, Buddy. At least give me some reasons, or you'll never win an argument."

Arlo let out half a giggle, then remembered his stubborn character.

"Nora's not going to school for another two weeks!"

"But Nora is at a university. The holidays are different and you know that." Reid countered calmly.

"No one will play with me!"

Spencer realised they had finally discovered what worried the kid.

"Hey," he softened his tone. "You're going to the same school as Henry. It was only yesterday that you got along so well and he said he'd play with you."

Arlo's frown slipped a little.

"I know. But what about lesson time?"

Reid began a sentence, but Nora stepped in.

"Arlo," she said pointedly. "I made friends at school. Me. If I did okay, You'll do amazing."

...

Though the night before, Arlo had grinned and believed Nora's words, the next morning was a different story.

"Daaaaaad!" The boy whined as Reid pushed him a bowl of cereal. "I don't wanna go! Don't make me!"

"I'm sorry, kiddo, really. But its the law and you need to learn things." It was killing Spencer to inflict school on his son when he knew how nervous he was.

"I don't want you to leave me there." Arlo mumbled. "I'm not ready."

Reid scooped the boy into his arms and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Hey, hey," he soothed. "No tears. You'll have fun, I'm sure of it. I don't have to leave right away, did you know that?"

"No," Arlo sniffled. "You never told me."

"I'm sorry." Reid whispered sympathetically. "Your teacher said I could stay while you settle in. Does that sound good, buddy?"

"Uh huh."

"Good."

...

An hour and a half later, Arlo and Reid stepped into the bright classroom of Mrs Pinglam.

"It's a shame Nora stayed home." Arlo commented, observing the red walls. "She'd have liked to come here on a Monday."

"I know, bud." Reid smiled. "But my friend Ethan is coming from New Orleans today. In music, he's kind of Nor's mentor so her and Ethan are probably going to jam in the cellar all day."

"'Kay." Arlo nodded as a woman with short, blonde hair walked over.

"Hello," she smiled. "You must be Dr Reid, and you must be Arlo. Hey, buddy!" She beamed at the six year old.

"Hi." Arlo mumbled, sticking close to Reid's leg.

"Mrs Pinglam, hello." The doctor nodded. "I believe we met a few years ago, you taught my godson, Henry."

Mrs Pinglam nodded, and then looked down to Arlo. He had caught a glimpse of the art table and seemed to have relaxed a little. He definetly wasn't super glued to his dad anymore at least.

"Honey," the woman spoke gently. "Go play if you want. Your dad came a bit early so we can discuss some things, so you have about ten minutes before the rabble arrives."

Arlo peered up at Reid cautiously.

"Why don't you draw a picture of the one ring? You'll need to find a good silver colour though." The father suggested.

Arlo stood with his mouth agape.

"Daddy!" He gasped. "The ring is gold!

Spencer smiled as the child was appalled as planned.

"Well then, draw a picture to remind me."

The red head nodded and scampered over to the table collapsing with supplies.

Mrs Pinglam raised an eyebrow.

"Nice work."

Reid just shrugged.

"My job involves phone calls that aren't really meant for little ears to overhear. I've got practice in distracting them."

Mrs Pinglam shrugged back.

"Right," she began, snapping into action. "What are your greatest concerns?"

Reid let out a long sigh.

"Erm, everything?"

The two laughed for a moment.

"Seriously though, I just want him to settle in and be okay."

The teacher nodded.

"What were the medical concerns you mentioned to the admin?"

"Arlo has a number cuts and burns on his back. Normally, they should be fine, but if the dressing comes off or gets dirty, the wounds will have to be redressed. Preferably by the youngest first aider there is."

"Of course. I was informed of Arlo's..." she hesitated. "..situation."

"Yes. It was... It wasn't good." Reid grimaced.

Mrs Pinglam nodded and looked over to Arlo who was drawing, the tip of his tongue sticking out in concentration. She was crushed to know that someone hurt him in the way that he was.

"Is there anything else, Dr Reid?" She asked softly.

"Don't push him into making friends." Spencer advised. "I've learnt from his sister that if they want to make friends, they will. It might take time, or it might not even happen if he doesn't want to. With abused kids it's... What I'm trying to say is that if Arlo's alone in a corner, he's not necessarily upset."

"I understand." The woman said softly, then raised her voice so that Arlo could hear. "On Friday we have career day where each child brings in a family member to talk about their job. Are you going to bring your dad, Arlo?"

Arlo looked up.

"Nope." He quipped, popping the p.

Mrs Pinglam frowned in confusion but Reid just smiled.

"You wanna bring Nora instead?" He guessed.

It was meeted by a nod from Arlo.

"Okay." Spencer agreed. "You'll have to ask her but I'm sure she'll be cool with it." he then turned to the teacher. "Nora is my eldest. Is sixteen too young for her to come in?"

"No, but what is her job, Dr Reid?"

She asked curiously.

"Nora plays instruments at restaurants in California. Only when she's over there for school though." Reid thought for a moment. "It'll actually give her some practice in public speaking and she'll need that in a couple years when she completing her course."

Mrs Pinglam was actually relieved. For years there had been accountants and sales managers and the odd FBI agent of course, but the kids were often either bored or confused on careers day. A musician would be exciting.

She smiled enthusiastically.

"Dr Reid?" She asked quietly. "Maybe it would be a good time for you to go?"

Spencer's chest tightened a little, but looking over at the settled Arlo, he knew she was right.

"Buddy?" He called out. "It's time for me to go."

Arlo ran over to Reid who lifted him up by his hands and let the little boy wrap his legs around his waist.

"Are you okay?" The father checked.

"Yes." Arlo mumbled softly. "I'll miss you."

"Me too, little man. I'll see you soon though when I pick you up. Have fun today okay?"

"Okay." The boy repeated.

"What name are you going to use?" Reid quizzed.

"Arlo Reid. Even though I'm dressed as Phineas today." He sighed

"Good." Reid smiled. "You do look very cool in your orange stripy shirt, but remember who you are."

Spencer pulled Arlo in for one last hug before setting him his own two feet.

"Bye, Arlo."

"Bye bye, daddy."

_**How was that? Sorry it's been a while, school's been pretty busy of late. Please review, it's great when you do!**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	11. Chapter 11

As Arlo exited the classroom, he looked around cautiously. There were too many unfamiliar grown ups around for his liking, so he tried to stay out of sight.

Finally, he saw a head poking out of the throng of commotion and cracked a face splitting grin.

"Daddy!" He yelled, running over to Reid.

"Hey little man!" Spencer smiled, tossing the boy up in the air and catching him.

"I finished the picture of the ring!" Arlo yelled excitedly, joggling around and making it difficult for Reid to hold him.

"That's great!" The father praised. "Very realistic."

"And I drew a picture of when the Gremlin gets exploded in the microwave!" The boy smiled. Nora had shown him the film Gremlins the night before, and it had been a hit evidently, if Arlo had spent the time to draw the kitchen appliance covered in green gunk.

"Brilliant." Reid once again smiled. Part of him wondered when he would be having a discussion with Mrs Pinglam about Arlo's drawings. Of what he had done so far, he seemed to stick to movie scenes and some could be a little gory.

Spencer was distracted from his thoughts by Arlo's stomach.

"Proffesor?" He called, using the nickname he had learnt off of Nora. "I'm hungry."

"Don't worry." Reid tickled the boy who emitted a squeal. "I've got a snack for you in the car. Aaaand, when we get home, there's gonna be a surprise for you."

"What is it!" Arlo asked frantically, bouncing on where he now sat on Reid's shoulders.

"Woah, bud. Stop bouncing or I'm going to put you down if you don't fall down first." Smiling a little as the boy froze, he continued. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise and Emily would hurt me in ways I can't imagine if I ruined it for you."

"Emily's coming? Tell me, I wanna see her hit you." Arlo chuckled mischievously.

"Oh you do, do you tough guy?" Spencer smirked. "Well for that, my lips are sealed.

...

Spencer smiled as he entered the house with Arlo by his side. Music was being played in Nora's room, and by the song choice, which he recognized, Reid estimated there would be at least eight kids plus Ethan in the cellar. He couldn't remember the name of the song, only that it was from a soundtrack, very indie, and a favourite of Nora's high school friends.

Though they were dotted all over the country, they were still kind of a band and played together whenever they were home for holidays.

"Do you want to meet Nora's friends?" Reid asked Arlo who nodded appreciatively. They headed down the steps without knocking, as they figured that they wouldn't be heard.

"Spencer, hey." Ethan smiled, looking up from his keyboard.

"Ethan," Reid greeted. "How're you doing?"

"Not bad." Ethan nodded, then switched his voice to sound scared. "But who is that? He's terrifying!"

Arlo giggled and let out a little roar that caused Ethan to shake and tremble.

"Ethan, this is Arlo. Arlo, I've just fed you. Could you not eat Ethan right this minute please?"

Arlo thought for a moment, then nodded.

The song ended, and surprising everyone, Arlo started to clap.

"Thanks kiddo," Oz chuckled, holding out his hand. "Oz Winters. I'm nineteen and ten months so I have a year or so until I'm an adult."

Arlo nodded and shook the offered hand.

Reid watched and smiled as each of the teenagers told Arlo their name and age, assuring him they were juveniles. Even Nora introduced herself causing Arlo to giggle.

"I already know you Nora!

"Oh yeah!" Nora shrugged. "How was school?"

Arlo scrunched up his nose.

"I drew some pictures. I suppose that was good."

"Were people nice to you?" Nora asked quietly, making sure her brother wasn't walking the road she once had.

"I guess." Arlo nodded.

Nora saw Reid frown in concern. He was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

"Emily!" Arlo yelled, running up the stairs. Reid made to follow him, but stopped for a second.

"Nor? You know what's coming, can you keep the music down please?"

"That won't be a problem." Quincy said from where he perched on a bass amp. "We're all headed home now anyways."

"Thanks." Reid nodded. "It was great seeing you all."

Heading into the living room, Spencer's was a little annoyed that Prentiss was already in there, as it meant Arlo had opened the door by himself, but when he saw the hole pricked cardboard box in Emily's hands and remembered what it contained, laid back slightly.

"I'm going to burst!" Arlo cried. "What's in the box?"

Prentiss gave a look of resignation and began.

"Well, I have this cat Sergio. He seems to have a girlfriend that has left me and my neighbor in a bit of a pickle."

The woman was faced with a blank look.

"They have had loads of Kittens!" Emily exclaimed, pulling a charcoal black cat out of the box.

Arlo gasped and ran his index finger along the creature's tail.

"It's tiny like me." He whispered.

"Yeah." Reid nodded quietly. "That's how big you were when you were born."

"Arlo?" Prentiss asked, smiling at the child's amazement. "Would you like to have him? He needs a new home."

"I can, I can keep him?" Arlo whispered gently.

"Yeah, Buddy." Emily beamed. "Reid's given the all clear so he's all yours."

Careful of the cat in the woman's arms, Arlo wrapped a hug around her neck.

"Thank you."

_**How was that? Reviews are awesome, please write them**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	12. Chapter 12

"This is my sister Nora." Arlo announced proudly, pointing up to her. Nora gave a small wave, not entirely sure how Arlo was managing to be so calm, but wishing she knew how. The sixteen year old wasn't really fussed by a class of little kids, but their parents who stood around the edge of the room made her feel on edge. Nora knew the deal, her and Arlo were weird and were definetly being judged.

A little girl put her hand up in the front row.

"You don't look the same." She looked puzzled.

"We have different parents." Arlo answered smoothly.

The girl nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

"Any way," Arlo continued. "This is Nora, she's sixteen."

"Brilliant," Mrs Pinglam smiled. "Now seeing as you are new, Arlo, why don't we use this as a bit of a get to know you activity as well as a career talk?"

"Okay." the boy looked up to Nora who nodded a little and smiled.

"Go ahead, bud."

"Okay. Me and Nora's second favourite book to read is Where the Wild Things are. That's why I'm dressed like Max for this presentation. Nora's friend Fletcher gave me the wolf suit 'cause it used be his and he didn't want it anymore. I was gonna wear my hobbit costume because Lord of the Rings is our favourite book, but it got dirty. Fletcher's cool. He plays bass pretty good."

Seeing her brother beginning to ramble, Nora nudged him.

"Maybe ask if people want to ask questions about you, that way you don't tell them unnecessary information?" She mumbled.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Arlo asked loudly. A number of hands went up.

"When we did getting to know you last semester, we did a family tree. Who is in your family?" Mrs Pinglam asked, wanting to ask something meaningful before the random questions from the kids started.

Nora internally facepalmed. What a question to ask an adopted kid, she thought bitterly.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows and began to faff with his sleeve.

"I don't under- do you mean alive or dead?" He whispered.

"Whoever you want honey."

At this, Arlo relaxed visibly.

"Well, there's Daddy, Nora, my cat Leo, Daddy's Mom Diana, Emily, Hotch, JJ, Derek, Penelope, Rossi,Henry, Jack and Will. I'm not related to any of them." Arlo giggled, finding his situation wierdly hilarious. His body language then changed drastically. "And Mommy and Daddy but they're not alive no more. I'm related to them." He mumbled.

Sensing Arlo approaching something bad, Nora stepped in.

"Hey, as Arlo said, I'm Nora, and for my job, I play instruments in the Seaview restaurant. Does anyone have any questions?"

"What instruments?" A young voice piped up.

"Um, whatever they give me." Nora laughed nervously. "My main instrument is the Cello, which is like a big violin that you rest on the floor, but I can play most other instruments."

"How much do you get paid?" A boy shouted.

"Alex!" His mother exclaimed crossly.

"It's fine." Nora smiled. " Enough I suppose, I get paid a fairly small wage actually, but I also get paid tips."

"Where is the Seaview restaurant? I want to see you play." A girl asked.

"It's in California I'm afraid." Nora replied. "I only play there when im over for school."

Seeing the girl look disappointed, Nora gestured over to a case in the corner.

"I brought my cello with me, though. I could play now if you'd like."

Receiving enthusiastic nods, Nora loosened up a bit. Things were going better than expected.

...

Reid walked from his car to the house quickly. He had just got back from a case, granted not a long one, but it was the first time he had gone away from Arlo and wanted to change his clothes and get to the school in time to pick up him and Nora.

As Spencer swung open the gate and looked to the door, what he saw there froze him in his tracks.

Sat on the doorstep, smiling as if he hadn't been away for over ten years was none other than Jason Gideon.

"What are you doing here?" Reid exclaimed.

"I could ask you the same thing." Gideon scoffed. "I went to your apartment but all there was, was a hippie teenager who said you'd moved here. It's not like you Spencer."

"That was Oz you saw by the way. And he's not a hippie, he's a really great kid who's renting the old apartment." Reid explained quickly. "Look, Gideon why _are_ you here?"

"Can I not come see you?"

"Not after estranging yourself from us all for ten years, not really." Reid was becoming more and more angry.

"I know Spencer." Gideon spoke softly. "And I apologise. I was struggling a lot back then and I just needed to get out. You know?"

Reid simply shrugged, despite knowing how much he was mirroring his kids when their social workers came to check up on them.

"I'm sorry, Gideon. I really am, but I've got someplace to be."

The older man's eyebrow raised.

"Someplace to be? By the looks of things, you just got back from a case. A pretty bad one at that, and the Reid I knew used to read himself a library after a bad case."

Reid finally gave up on hiding the defeat he felt.

"Gideon, you've been away for a long time, things have changed. I have changed. I have kids Gideon. That's where I have to be, the school."

Jason Gideon could not be made speechless easily, but Reid had succeeded.

"Kids?" He asked quietly. "How old are they? What are they called?"

"Nora is sixteen and Arlo is six."

Gideon nodded.

"Who's the mother?"

Reid sighed.

"They're both adopted, Gideon. I'm a single parent."

The older man looked uncomfortable.

"Can I, can I meet them?"

Spencer contemplated for some time.

"Jeez, I don't- I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why?" The former profiler's answer was quick as if he had expected Reid's rejection.

"Because!" Reid cried. "Why should you see them? Have you even considered that I don't want to see you? I'm not going to lie, Gideon, when you left, I was upset. Really upset, for a long time. But I moved on. Three years ago, I adopted Nora. In twelve years, she had been abused in every single way, and when I got to her, the only definition I could use for her is broken. Now we still have bad days, but she has made so much progress. So much. Now I assume you heard about the killing spree about a week ago? They called the unsub the "party crasher"."

Gideon nodded.

"Yes, seventeen dead, only one survivor if I'm correct?"

"Yes, you are." Spencer continued. "He sleeps in the room at the top of the stairs and he always dresses as a character because he's so terrified of what will happen if he becomes himself."

Reid sighed exasperatedly.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, over time, things got more important than your departure, and your departure became less important. You became less important. It's not that I don't want you to see them out of spite, it's just, Arlo doesn't really trust many adults yet, and Nora... Well Nora just isn't good with change."

Gideon stood there frozen, his face for once showing his emotion: hurt.

"It's okay." He mumbled softly. "I understand."

A torrent of guilt swept over Reid, and before he was aware of his actions, he was speaking.

"Oh, what the- wait at the house while I go get them. It'll give me some time to warn them and give them enough information on you that they won't be terrified."

Gideon blinked in shock.

"Okay, I'll um, I'll wait here. Thank you Spencer."

As Reid looked back, he saw how genuinely happy his mentor looked.

"It's okay."

_**How was that? What do you think will happen when Gideon meets the Reid kids? Please leave a review if you can**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	13. Chapter 13

"Guys, there's- when we, urm... When we get home there's a visitor there."

At the end of Reid's stuttered sentence, both kids reacted immediately, Nora frowned and Arlo's head snapped away from where he doodled on the car window with a dry wipe marker.

"Who?" They asked simultaneously with the mixture of caution and terrified you only hear from abused kids.

"A friend." Reid plowed on. "A very good friend of mine, but I've not seen him for a while. He wanted to meet you guys."

"Do you trust him?" Arlo's voice broke as he whispered hoarsely.

"He's not going to hurt you, buddy." Spencer reassured the small child, avoiding his question as he realized he wasn't certain of the answer.

"It's Gideon, isn't it?" Nora asked suddenly, showing no expression.

"Yes." Reid made a mental note to keep an eye on Nora for signs of sensory overload. A day in a hectic classroom with an unexpected visitor added could quite potentially tip her over the edge.

"Okay." Nora answered stiffly, and angrily, Reid noticed. That was odd for her.

The father would have put his head in his hands had he not been driving.

Why was Gideon even there?

...

As Reid entered the house with Arlo on his back and Nora beside him, he felt the boy tense at the sight of Gideon.

"Hi Spencer," Jason spoke quietly. "You're back already?"

Reid nodded.

"The school isn't far."

Feeling Arlo nudging his shoulder, he turned his head.

"What's up, little man?" He asked the boy in the wolf suit.

"Can I get a snack, Daddy?" He asked sleepily.

"Sure. You can go get something from your cupboard." Reid smiled, setting him on his feet.

Arlo stumbled into the kitchen and towards a cupboard at his height. It had been covered in magnetic paint and so many fridge magnets adorned the wooden box. Above his, was one for Nora. Both the kids had their own cupboards for snacks they particularly liked, and in Nora's case, the food was in colour sections for every day of the week. It gave them some well needed control they had lost in the past and was overall, just a good idea.

Reid watched closely as Arlo returned, cheese crackers in hand.

Gideon dropped to one knee.

"Hi there, Arlo." He spoke gently. "I'm Jason."

The small boy took one look at the outstretched hand the man was offering him and bolted to his room.

Gideon sighed deeply and ran a hand over his head.

"That didn't go well." He muttered.

"No." Reid said quietly. "I'm going to make sure he's not working himself up." The lanky genius then bounded up the stairs leaving Gideon and Nora alone.

"You know when Reid first told me he had kids, I thought he was joking." Gideon half laughed in his feeble attempt to start a conversation.

"When Dad told me he let you stay for dinner, I thought he was joking." Nora shot back bitterly.

"Why?" Gideon asked, seeming curious.

"Tell you what," Nora began. "I have two words to say to you. If you know why they're important, we van continue with this awkward chit- chat. If not, I can leave."

Gideon nodded. "Well okay then."

Nora made firm eye contact.

"Maeve Donovan." She uttered, never once letting her clay coloured eyes leave Gideon's.

The man contemplated for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't- I don't know who that is."

Wordlessly, Nora threw on a jacket and looked to Reid who had just started a descent down the stairs carrying a clearly petrified Arlo.

"Dad?" She called. "Can I go to the movies with Fletch? I'll be back in time for dinner."

"You and Fletcher going to the Dracula showing?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Be back in time though, please." Reid warned.

"'Kay. Bye Dad, Arlo." Nora smiled and left.

Spencer turned to the boy in his arms.

"Do you want to come sit with me and Jason, or you can go play?"

Arlo whispered into his father's ear and the man nodded and put him down.

"Dinner's going to be at about sixish okay?" He called as the kid scuttled to his room.

"Wow." Gideon sighed. "Your kids hate me."

Reid laughed nervously.

"I wouldn't take it personally. Arlo's always like this with new people."

"And Nora?" The ex- profiler raised an eyebrow.

Reid squirmed under the sudden attention being put on his children.

"Nora sometimes needs to take a break from everything."

"And you let her?"

"Well yes." Spencer answered hotly. "Gideon, you know nothing about them, you don't understand. Please don't question my parenting."

"Then make me." Gideon said simply. "Make me understand how to get on their good sides. Make me understand them."

Reid went silent, completely baffled.

"Just tell me some things about them." Gideon prompted.

Spencer took a breath.

"Well, I'll start with Nora. She can play every instrument she has come across so far, she likes horror movies and she is at least halfway to getting a doctorate in behavioural and social neuroscience."

Gideon smiled softly.

"You wouldn't think that upon meeting her."

Reid smiled back.

"I know. And I love it. She goes to Caltech, but she still has a life not too dissimilar to other sixteen year olds. Fletcher, who she's just gone to meet, is another young genius. There's only a few months between them and they've been friends for quite a while now."

Gideon nodded.

"But she doesn't trust people."

"No." Reid confirmed. "With Arlo, if me and Nora trust people, he's usually okay with them. Nora, however, needs to personally trust someone. With her background, it can take a while."

Gideon sighed heavily.

"I need to ask you something, Spencer. Something Nora said about a Maeve Donovan."

_**How was that? Sorry for the abrupt end, but it seemed to be getting quite long. Please review, they truly are amazing**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


	14. Chapter 14

"M-m-maeve?" Reid stuttered. "Nora told you about Maeve?"

"No." Gideon shook his head. "Just gave me a name then walked off. I hoped you could help me with that."

Reid tucked into himself, unsure of what to say. He could talk about Maeve just fine when he wanted to, but on demand like this?

"My girlfriend?" He croaked. "I suppose she was my girlfriend in an obscure kind of way."

"Was?" Gideon's tone was low yet gentle.

"She,um, died." Reid mumbled without looking up from his foot. "She was kidnapped, shot, couldn't save her."

Gideon's face dropped. Reid didn't deserve this. He cleared his throat.

"Spencer, I'm-"

"Can we please not talk about this anymore?" Reid whispered weakly.

"Sure."

Spencer stood quickly and absent mindedly rubbed a bit of fluff between his fingers.

He lifted his foot to walk, and meant to go check on Arlo, but was intercepted by his mobile ringing.

"Morgan?" Reid asked after checking the caller ID. "What's up?"

"Hey Reid." Derek sounded a little shaken up beneath his ever present brotherly tone. "Nora's at my place."

"What?"

"I got a call from Fletcher saying she had gotten pretty bad and he was panicking. I picked her up."

"How is she? Did she say what was up? Why didn't Fletcher call me?" Reid garbled quickly, concerned.

"Slow down, Reid. Fletcher didn't call you because Nora didn't want him to, and I'm the first person in her contacts. Turns out she didn't want to go home. Wanna tell me why that might be?"

Reid sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Aware of the eyeball he was receiving from Gideon, he stepped into the kitchen.

"Gideon came over."

There was a long pause.

"Jason Gideon? At your house?" Morgan slowly ground out.

"Yes. Ten years later." It was then that Reid realized how crazy it was.

"How's Nor?"

"She doing okay." The weight lifted from Derek's voice. "It was difficult at first, but at the moment, she's crashed in the guest room with Clooney."

"How bad did she get?" Reid asked quietly, dreading the answer.

"It was different to how I've seen her before. She was really skittish, lots of stimming going on."

"Right. Do you need me to pick her up?"

Morgan let out an almighty sigh of relief.

"Please. I'm just about managing, but I'm out of my depth here Reid. Pretty girl needs you right now."

"No problem. I've just got to drop in at the old apartment to get the rent from Oz then I'll be right over."

"Thanks man."

Reid hung up and walked out, almost bumping into Gideon who had obviously heard everything.

"It's time for me to leave, isn't it?"

He asked gravely.

Reid nodded.

"Yes." There was a pause. "I won't see you again."

Spencer's statement caused Gideon to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, will I?"

"I'm moving to New Zealand." Gideon said quietly after a moment of hesitation.

"Why else would you come visit?" Reid gave a shaky laugh. He began to speak again, but swallowed his sentence.

Gideon looked as though he was going to speak, but seemed to back out of it. He nodded once and then silently let himself out of the house.

As soon as the door shut, Arlo stuck his head out from his room.

"Come on, bud." Reid gave a small smile that wasn't true to his feelings. "Let's go."

...

Spencer tapped on the door of the apartment and waited for an answer. Arlo was waiting in the car and the profiler was in a rush to get back to him. The door swung open and reid was shocked to see Fletcher on the other side. He was even more shocked to see the black eye the teenager sported.

"Hey Reid." He mumbled. "Oz isn't in but he said this envelope had the rent money in."

Reid slowly took the brown parcel handed to him, constantly looking at Fletcher's body language.

"Fletcher," reid began quietly. "What's going on?"

The boy froze momentarily but tried to shake it off.

"Nothing. I'm fine." He took one look at Reid's expression and realized the man didn't buy it. "I'm okay Spencer." The boy mumbled quietly. "Promise."

"Do I need to call anyone?" Reid asked calmly."

Fletcher shook his head.

Reid wasn't dropping it that easy.

"Fletcher, you can talk to me. I won't tell anyone."

The seventeen year old ran a hand through his dark hair and closed his eyes.

"My dad, my dad always drank. I mean everyone's dad drinks a couple beers at a barbeque or whatever, but he did it a lot. They were good at covering it up, my parents, but they barely had a marriage. I think my mom only stayed so that he'd hit her instead of me. I'm not a coward, Reid, I wanted to stand up to him, tell him to stop, but mom made me promise I wouldn't, so that I wouldn't get hurt. When I left for Caltech, I guess she figured I'd be safe, so she left him. But I haven't heard from her since. I do alright seeing as I'm barely home, but when I am... He likes to make sure I know what's what."

Fletcher's face paled as he realized just exactly what he had said.

"But it's fine now." He blurted. "Oz found out, went all big brother with me and even went the extra mile and called Hanna so she could talk my ear off. I'm gonna stay with Oz when I'm not at university, and when I'm eighteen, I'll be able to get my own place."

Reid looked unconvinced.

"For now," he began. "I'm going to leave it because you are a young adult who deserves to make their own choices. But you _will_ let me check up on you. _Frequently_. If a get the slightest whiff of trouble from your father, I will be sending the police his way."

Fletcher nodded solemnly.

"How's Nor?"

Reid chuckled a little at how Fletcher could change a subject.

"She's fine, nothing too bad, she's just had an eventful day." Reid paused. "Why didn't you tell me Fletch?"

The teenager closed his eyes for a moment.

"I don't know." Fletcher's voice cracked.

"I'm sorry." Was all Reid said before he walked away.

_**How was that? Sorry I've not updated in forever, but I've been at gigs quite a few nights this week so I just haven't had the time. Let me know what you think, I'm not entirely sure about this one.**_

_**-TailsNeverFails**_


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